EUGENE -- If you're searching for something to blame for Oregon and
its once white-hot offense going ice cold and the Ducks losing 17-14 in
overtime to Stanford on a chilly Saturday night at Autzen Stadium,
don't.

Oregon shot itself in the foot Saturday night with a seemingly
clear path to the BCS National Championship Game. The Ducks appeared set
to travel to Miami while riding a for-the-ages offense that had
incinerated 10 previous opponents to the tune of 54.8 points per game.

Oregon did so on a night when its battered defense rose to the occasion time and time again to keep the Ducks in the game.

But instead of answering the call on offense, as Oregon had done so
many times during its four-year run of dominance within its conference,
the Ducks melted down time and time again.

So it was only fitting that on Oregon's final two plays with the
ball in overtime and the game tied at 14-14, that the Ducks failed to
execute the simplest of things.

First, on third down and nine yards to go from the Stanford 24,
Mariota threw to the right corner while Huff ran down the middle leading
to a fourth down.

Mariota said after the game that the play was a result of a miscommunication while reading the playcall from the sideline.

"I didn't see the full signal and that's on me," Mariota said. "I've just got to learn from it."

Oregon Ducks head coach Chip Kelly reacts to a call during play against the Stanford Cardinal at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. Thomas Boyd/The OregonianThomas Boyd/The Oregonian

The miscue led to a 41-yard field goal attempt, which meant it led
to trouble. Oregon had attempted nine field goals all season with Rob
Beard making 4 of 8 and Alejandro Maldonado making his only attempt
entering the game but having already missed wide right on a 42-yarder in
the third quarter.

This time he kicked the ball much more to the left but about a foot
too much. The kick hit the left upright, placing the game and Oregon's
season in the hands of Stanford.

The Cardinal nearly coughed back control of the game when
quarterback Kevin Hogan fumbled. But Clay just missed falling on the
ball and Stanford recovered at the Oregon 23. Two plays later, Stanford
kicker Jordan Williamson made his 37-yard field goal look easy, giving
the Cardinal a 17-14 win.

After the game, Oregon gave Stanford much praise for stopping it,
and rightfully so. The Cardinal, with the top-rated defense in the
Pac-12, did what no team had done since Oregon's 15-13 win at California
in 2010. The Cardinal rocked Oregon's offense at its foundation, even
more so than LSU did last season during a 40-27 win in Dallas.

Running back Kenjon Barner was held to 66 yards on 21 carries.
De'Anthony Thomas had 46 yards of total offense. Mariota, who threw 10
touchdown passes over the previous two games, had arguably his worst
showing of the season, completing 21 of 37 for 207 yards and one
touchdown with one interception.

Kelly credited Stanford's defense for disrupting Oregon's running
game and making it difficult for the Ducks to create enough time for
Mariota to go downfield.

"Those guys played a little bit better than us," Kelly said. "So I have to give credit to them."

Mariota said Stanford stacked the box to take away the run and then
against the pass, did a good job of dropping multiple players into
coverage to make reads difficult.

"That didn't leave a lot of holes," he said.

Oregon offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich said Stanford didn't
surprise Oregon with its schemes. He said the Cardinal played well and
Oregon did not.

"It's always a combination of both," Helfrich said. "They beat us,
flat, fair and square. Is there a lot of things we left there on the
field? Sure. But it doesn't matter. You have to execute it. You have to
finish it."

He did lament one play.

"If Marcus runs in that long run at the beginning I think it's probably a totally different game," Helfrich said.

On that play, Mariota broke for a 77-yard run down the right
sideline in the first quarter and had only Stanford safety Devon
Carrington to beat for a touchdown with Thomas leading the way.